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Taking it to the Next Level, Part 1: The Sober Date

Busybusy weekend! Friday night I partied with a bunch of my girlfriends. I drank 2 beers, a shot of Patron, and a pickle martini—yes, a pickle martini—and then I thrashed some pancakes around 2 a.m. So on Saturday I was on a mission to sober up, first at brunch with Marcie, my former roommate who is now pregnant and can’t drink (not that she would've stopped me) .

Yes, I am sitting in Marcie's lap. I thought she should have some practice holding a big baby. ;)

We brunched at Pipa tapas y mas which is inside the store ABC Carpet & Home. The chandeliers above us were for sale! Notice the price tags?

Later...Scott and I met up after our respective brunches and had a dry, daytime date! Maybe I’m being silly about this “step,” but hey, dating me, there are more levels of comfort and intimacy and information-sharing than with most (since it’s a big deal for me just to email, because that means having to share my last name...and the blog—eek!).

Scott and I walked through the West Village and saw Matthew Broderick riding his bicycle! Then we went to Pure Dark for some hot chocolate.

There’s really something to spending quality, sober, down time together. You don’t have the distracting bells and whistles of the Carnegie Club or the drama of not overcooking lasagna to dazzle you. You have to just dazzle each other with what’s really there. You also get a chance to zero in on the details...e.g., you examine each other’s pinkies. And you engage more with the outside world; we chatted a lot with the chocolatiers at Pure Dark. Also, a male customer called out to Scott that he had “nice arm definition.” It came out of no where so random and funny. (People love this guy!)

Anyway, this is my official endorsement of not drinking on a date. Hey, I never thought anything would be better sober, but dry dating can be great. You should try it!

Do you make a point to do this? Is your town as drinky as Manhattan? What have you discovered about someone while sober? If you typically drink, what have you learned about someone that sobered you up real quick, haha?